Tag: sj

A ‘Movement Installation’ For Dancers With And Without Disabilities

“For an artwork that’s making strides around the world, On Display places remarkable value on motionlessness. ‘It’s a lot of stillness,’ creator-choreographer Heidi Latsky says of the piece, a movement installation — or human sculpture court — that incorporates performers with and without disabilities. Designed to demonstrate inclusiveness and ponder society’s fixation with body image, On Display has been mounted internationally, in different versions, more than 200 times.” – The Washington Post

There’s A Whole New Crop Of South Asian-American Stand-Up Comedians Coming

“They’re finding strength in numbers that have swelled in the wake of new role models, mounting recurring group shows with names like Kutti Gang and Brown Privilege in New York, and Desi Comedy Festival [in California]. … (It’s also no small thing to have people like [Mindy] Kaling and [Hasan] Minhaj to point to when arguing with immigrant parents who may disapprove of even their adult offspring pursuing stand-up.)” – The Daily Beast

Cincinnati Ballet Runs Classes For Children With Range Of (Dis)Abilities

“Ballet Moves began in 2014 when the father of a young girl with Down syndrome asked if any of the classes suited her needs. The answer was no. But Julie Sunderland, who trained with Boston Ballet’s adaptive dance program before coming to the Cincinnati Ballet 11 years ago, said she would start one. … Two years later, the class expanded to children with other disabilities after Sunderland saw a Facebook post about a man with cerebral palsy who used dance to create new neurological pathways and help him walk. And now there are a few classes, for boys and girls, ages 4 to 14.” – Cincinnati Enquirer

Art-Washing: Museums Face The Taint Of Donor Money

“Gifts that are not in the public interest.” It is a pregnant, important phrase. Coming on the heels of similar decisions by the Tate Modern in London and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the spurning of Oxy-cash seems to reflect a growing awareness that gifts to the arts and other good causes are not only a way for ultra-wealthy people to scrub their consciences and reputations. Philanthropy can also be central to purchasing the immunity needed to profiteer at the expense of the common welfare. – The New York Times

‘The Most Holistic Approach To Creating Belonging That I Have Witnessed In A Theatre’

Critic Alex Rosenfeld writes about A Fierce Kind of Love, a devised play about the intellectual disability rights movement, and how everything about the production, from the integration of performers with disabilities into the development of the script and the cast to the provisions made by the presenter (FringeArts in Philadelphia) for audience members of varying (dis)abilities, demonstrated the difference between inclusion and belonging. – HowlRound

A Vietnamese-American Theatre Critic Finally Sees Her Stories Onstage — And Feels What She Had Barely Known Was Missing

“There is a line in The Scarlet Letter: ‘She had not known the weight, until she felt the freedom.’ I hadn’t known the weight of transposing myself into other people’s bodies until I no longer had to do it.” Diep Tran writes about Vietgone and Poor Yella Rednecks, the first two parts of a planned five-play cycle by Qui Nguyen about his family’s journey from Vietnam and settlement in the U.S. – American Theatre

Brazil’s New Gov’t Redirects Culture Funding Away From Rio And São Paulo — Sharing The Wealth? Or Punishing Bolsonaro’s Enemies?

The maximum amount granted for a project has been slashed from $15 million to $250,000, which is a blow to the largest arts projects in the two metropolises, and the government says explicitly that it wants to spread funding to underrecognized artists and underserved regions of Brazil. (Some 90% of federal arts funding has been going to São Paul and Rio.) On the other hand, the arts communities of those two cities campaigned furiously against the election of President Bolsonaro, and many wonder if this is payback. – The Rio Times

It’s Illegal To Be Gay In Tunisia, But These Brave Souls Put On A Queer Film Festival There

“Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival, in its second year, differs significantly from other film festivals: some participants wear badges that read ‘No Photos’; attendees were invited through a private Facebook page and were told not to geo-tag locations on social media; venues were revealed only in the final days before the festival.” – The New York Times

This Detroit Artist Turned The Street He Grew Up On Into A Great Big Art Installation — Why Is He Now Taking It Apart?

“At various points in the last three decades, [Tyree Guyton’s] Heidelberg Project, as it has come to be known, has been dismissed by neighbors as the junk of a crazy hoarder and hailed by critics as one of the great American artworks of the last 50 years. … After years of fighting off destruction from vandals, from elected officials, from arsonists and police, Guyton must now effectively destroy his work in order to save it.” – The New York Times Magazine